Quinn v. Tolle

Hsndsrson, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. This appeal is from an order reversing an order of the Board of Zoning Appeals of Baltimore County, dated January 18, 1957, which had denied an application for reclassification of a tract containing about 30 acres of land from an R.6 zone to an R.20 zone and for a special exception to use the property for a drive-in theatre. The appellants intervened in the case and vigorously opposed the application. The appellants contend that the evidence did not justify a change in classification from one zone to the other, that the evidence did not justify the granting of a special exception, that the trial court substituted its judgment for that of the Zoning Board, and that there was no evidence to show that the Board’s action was arbitrary or capricious. ⁶⁴⁵ The tract in question has a frontage of 60 feet on the east side of Belair Road, a four-lane highway with no sidewalks, and there are residences on each side.

The Board’s action was based on the fact that the whole district is, and has been, residential, with homes, a school and a large church in close proximity, that the proposed use would result in noise, bright lights and disturbance, and create a traffic hazard on a heavily traveled road. It is conceded that the property in question was properly zoned in the first instance, but the appellees claim that there has been a change in conditions, in that there is a tract across the road which was zoned Night Industrial in 1955, another tract, south of the subject property, which was zoned Business Major in 1956, and another tract zoned Business Bocal in 1956. None of these changes appears to have been opposed by local residents, and there was testimony that they did not change the character of the neighborhood to any appreciable extent. All of the other property in the entire neighborhood is zoned R.6.

In order to obtain the special exception applied for, it was necessary to first obtain a zoning reclassification. It is conceded that under the zoning laws of Baltimore County, a drive-in theatre is not permitted in an R.6 zone, but is only permitted in R.20 and R.40 zones, and in a Business Roadside Zone. It appears that there is no present classification in the entire area where a drive-in theatre could be permitted under the zoning laws. It